Do You Want to Live Alone or Live Longer When You Get Older, Kentucky?

Signs of Kentucky Nursing Home AbuseVisiting an elderly loved one in the nursing home? If so, do you know what to look for and what signs may be red flags that your loved one is being abused?

Maybe you’ve pictured it: You’ve outlived your spouse, your children are grown and have children of their own, and you are free to putter around your home alone, doing whatever you choose.

That may not be wise.

Warning! Solitary Elderly Person!

Even though you are content to live alone, even if you do not feel “lonely,” you will live longer if you live have more social interaction—so suggests a research study out of the United Kingdom. The study showed that social isolation is strongly associated with mortality.

So much for your well-earned peace and quiet!

Why Can’t I Live the Way I Want?

It comes down to a choice: live with other people—even though you don’t really want to—or live alone and die sooner. It doesn’t seem fair, does it?

Granted, the researchers who performed the study acknowledged that rating individuals on how isolated or how lonely they are is incredibly subjective. Also, there was no indication of how much longer a person may live if he or she doesn’t live alone. They still maintain that

Sociability = A Longer Life.

Luckily, as long as we still have our faculties, the decision is up to us. If you are happier alone, I say quality of life trumps quantity. How about you?